Heisman Watch: Can Najee Harris extend Alabama football RB Heisman legacy?

Najee Harris could be Alabama football’s third Heisman Trophy winner.

Najee Harris may become a college football immortal with a stellar 2020 campaign.

The Alabama Crimson Tide running back has the potential to become the third Heisman Trophy winner in school history. Since 2009, Mark Ingram Jr. and Derrick Henry have represented the program as the first two Heisman winners in program history and third for head coach Nick Saban.

While winning a Heisman as a running back is harder than it has ever been in a pass-happy college game, Ingram and Henry are the last two backs to pull it off. Though only three running backs have won the Heisman this century, it wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world for Harris to pull the thing off.

Of course, he’ll have to beat out Heisman favorites Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the process, but don’t sleep on the 6-foot-2, 229-pound back who has been the best running back in the SEC the last two seasons.

Can Alabama three-peat with Heisman running backs with Najee Harris?

There are a handful of reasons it just might be Harris who takes home the 2020 Heisman Trophy. The first is Alabama doesn’t have an undeniable superstar at the quarterback position this year. Mac Jones is fine, but the Crimson Tide had someone more established like Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts or even an A.J. McCarron it would have made things more difficult for Harris to win it.

Another thing working for Harris’ Heisman candidacy is he’ll likely suit up for a College Football Playoff team in the 2020 Crimson Tide. Alabama should be the favorite to win the SEC this year and get back to the playoff after a year’s absence. The more big games a star player is showcased in, the better the chance he’ll end up taking home the Heisman.

Alabama’s recent track record of producing great running back talent only adds to his case. Unless you play quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, your next best bet to win a Heisman is to be a running back playing for Saban at Alabama. Just ask Ingram and Henry what that’s like.

Lastly, we’ve had a run of several out-of-nowhere Heisman winners in recent years. Outside of Marcus Mariota with the Oregon Ducks and Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by most Heisman winners of the last decade-plus. Who saw Joe Burrow winning the Heisman going away last fall? He was like the fourth-best quarterback in the SEC two years ago.

Harris plays the right position for the right team to have a halfway decent shot at winning the Heisman if it all goes right for him and the Crimson Tide. Nobody thought Ingram was winning it as a sophomore in 2009. Henry was seen as the third-best running back in the SEC entering 2015 behind Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette. Harris could make it three.

Even though he’s a dark horse at this point, don’t sleep on Harris’ Heisman candidacy.

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